3 Boxing Workouts To Help You Pack A Punch

If you want to unleash some pent up aggression during your workout, there's nothing better than grabbing some boxing gloves and whaling on a heavy bag.

Even justdrilling for the sportcan help to improve your cardio stamina, endurance, balance, and coordination. You'll be working your upper body, lower body, and core, and the intense, fat-burning workouts can help to drop weight, too — plus you'll be able to handle yourself better if someone starts swinging at you.

But it takes more than just effort and grit to make the most ofa fighter's fitness routine. You're going to need to funnel that intensity into specific movements and drills to really begin to reap the benefits.

"A great boxer has to have focus, coordination, power, speed, and endurance," Michael Olajide Jr., a former championship middleweight boxer, toldMen's Health.

To help you hone your skills, we tapped some top fighters to act as your cornermen. Hit these workouts to improve your punching power — and you'll have a new outlet to de-stress on even your most frustrating days.Just make sure you throw on some wraps or gloves before you attack the bag to keep your hands in good health.

The Knockout Workouts

1. UFC Power Punches

Your coach: Frank Mir,Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight

Whether you're facing Wanderlei Silva in a cage match or a 75-pound bag in your basement, the same rules apply: "Once you're warmed up, you should be throwing each punch at full blast," Mir, a former UFC heavyweight champ, toldMen's Health. He uses this demanding six-round routine to build mental and physical tenacity.

2. Punch and Pull

Use light dumbbells and a stretch band with a handle to balance out your strikes and build punching power with this drill.

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Run through six cycles of the exercises described above to simulate three rounds of heavy boxing work.

3. Middleweight Lightning Hands

Your coach: Michael Olajide Jr. Shadowboxing allows you to rack up high reps without the resistance of a bag to slow your punches. "You'll tone your shoulders, back, and core, which will help you throw faster punches," Olajide said.

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Hit on beat Play five songs that have strong rhythms and last 3 to 4 minutes each. On every fourth beat (count out loud to keep yourself on track), unleash one of the punch combinations below, and then bring your hands back to your starting stance before the next beat. The shifting tempo of some tracks may require you to punch continuously until the song slows.

Combos for each song:1. Left jab, left jab, right cross2. Right cross, left jab, right uppercut3. Left body punch, right body punch, left uppercut4. Right uppercut, right cross, left hook5. Right cross, left hook, right hook